The IMF and WTO have joined the call to allocate more doses to developing countries, even as the case for boosters in developing America grows.
(Originally published Sept. 17 in “What in the World“) While the surge in global cases of Covid-19’s Delta strain continues to abate, it’s staging a comeback in the United States, forcing some states to ration healthcare as Covid patients fill intensive care units. This may come as no surprise, given that roughly 45% of Americans are still unvaccinated. But waning immunity among early vaccine recipients is helping to keep the virus in circulation.
At the same time, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization have joined the World Health Organization’s call for rich countries to hand over what they say is two billion excess vaccine doses to the developing world, notably Africa, and go to the back of the line for new deliveries so that poorer countries can get enough doses to vaccinate at least 40% of their citizens.
It’s still not clear just how the IMF, WHO and WTO intend to get those doses into the arms of the people who need them, however. It’s likely much easier for rich countries to ramp up production of vaccines than for poor countries to magically develop the logistical infrastructure necessary to get those doses from ports to everyone in Africa’s crowded cities and remote villages.
Attention to that call may be diverted by new allegations that IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva was putting her thumbs on the scales in favor of China during the compilation of the 2018 Doing Business report by the World Bank, which she headed at the time. Georgieva has denied the accusations.
But the new call will undoubtedly fuel the controversy over the growing number of countries offering third, booster shots to their citizens. While scientists at the WHO and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have questioned the need for booster shots, vaccine manufacturers are warning that immunity does wane over time and Israeli studies show that boosters increase immunity levels tenfold.
Fortunately, the U.S. is throwing its weight behind the global vaccination effort, with the Administration of President Joe Biden reportedly launching an effort at the UN General Assembly this week to get the global vaccination rate up to 70% by next year.
